SUMMER 2018

CATALYST

LINCOLN INDUSTRIES BELIEFS ▶ Our people and their unique individual talents are valued. ▶ Appropriate recognition motivates our people to be successful. ▶ Leaders create value. ▶ Innovation creates continuous improvement. ▶ Profitability ensures the survival of our company. ▶ Positive relationships build loyalty. ▶ Honesty is essential in all transactions. ▶ We create value for our customers. ▶ Wellness and healthy lifestyles are important to our success.

For all inquiries contact:Kayla Jacox, Marketing Manager

Lincoln Industries / 600 West E Street / Lincoln, NE 68522 kayla.jacox@lincolnindustries.com 402.473.2057 LincolnIndustries.com © 2018 Lincoln Industries

LINCOLN INDUSTRIES SUCCESS DRIVERS ▶ Quality in everything we do. ▶ Productivity improvement is a continuous process. ▶ On-time delivery because our customers depend on us. ▶ A safe working environment is our commitment to each other. ▶ Environmental responsibility is our commitment to our communities. ▶ People development because our people create our success. ▶ Company growth is the result of providing a superior service. ▶ Value-added service means doing more for our customers.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

03 BILL’S COLUMN

04 EXPANDING OUR CAPABILITIES

06 BRINGING TOGETHER COMPANY CULTURES

07 TRANSITION BENEFITING FROM BEST PRACTICE SHARING

08 BLACK BELT CERTIFICATION - CARL WITTE

09 LINCOLN SETS NEW ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD

11 NEW CERTIFICATION OPENS DOORS FOR OPPORTUNITIES

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The first half of our year has been marked by many achievements. We are having a great year and we understand this success is a direct result of supporting our customers’ initiatives, allowing them to be more successful. Our mission is to make great brands better, which has never been truer.

This issue of Catalyst spotlights our successes serving customers. The continued growth in the economy, combined with our customers strength in market share and presence allows us to strengthen our operations in Lincoln and Minnesota with talented people who are devoted to solving complex finishing challenges, quality, and service issues.

We are especially pleased with our recent acquisition of Southwest Metal Finishing and Inventix. It extends the capabilities of our core business along with many additional new capabilities, creating opportunities to grow our business. The complimentary extension of capabilities allows us to do more for our customers and

expand our market reach. If it’s made of metal, we can meet your finishing needs.

The acquisitions over the last five years have solidified our position as the number one finishing company. Each of these companies had success in their markets providing high quality products and cosmetic finishing. We know that with the right leadership, people, and resources, the opportunities for success are endless. With that success will come new opportunities to grow our business serving new markets. It’s a great recipe for growth.

It’s with great pride we welcome our new facilities in Wisconsin, Texas, and Mexico to the Lincoln Industries family of businesses.

BILL’S COLUMN

We know that with the right leadership, people, and resources, the opportunities for

success are endless.

“

Bill Ellerbee / President

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EXPANDING OUR CAPABILITIESThe acquisition of Southwest Metal Finishing and Inventix Mfg.

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Marking the biggest acquisition in its history, Lincoln Industries purchased affiliated Wisconsin-based businesses, Southwest Metal Finishing, Inventix Manufacturing, and Southwest Manufacturas De Mexico.

Southwest Metal Finishing, New Berlin, WI, is a decorative chrome plating and metal finishing company. Inventix Manufacturing, located at Menomonee Falls, WI, produces zinc and aluminum die castings. Southwest Metal Finishing also has facilities in Texas and Mexico. Southwest Manufacturas De Mexico is a world-class polishing and plating operation and together, all facilities acquired, employ over 600 people.

The acquisition comes three years after Lincoln Industries acquired DS Manufacturing located at Pine Island, Minnesota. Despite being the largest and most diverse privately-held finishing company in the US, these acquisitions have significantly broadened Lincoln Industries’ market reach.

“The combination of our companies will drive substantial technological and operational synergies,” said CEO and Chairman Marc LeBaron. “While we provide more than 40 finishing processes and significant manufacturing capabilities, the addition of zinc and aluminum die casting and related metal finishing processes are important additions to our offerings,” he said.

“These acquisitions are important because there are certain cases where our companies have strong relationships with some of the same customers. At the same time, there are many opportunities where our customer bases do not overlap. Our companies will be completely integrated, creating an opportunity to provide a part, from design to finished product.”

Lincoln Industries Vice President of Strategic Accounts Clint Boothe and Director of Maintenance and Engineering Louis Balogh are leading the transition at Wisconsin.

Boothe is serving as acting general manager and is anxious to see how the newly acquired facilities will impact Lincoln Industries.

“When we put our strategic objectives together last year, one of the most important was to develop supply chains

for aluminum and zinc die cast parts,” said Boothe. “We are continually presented with opportunities from new and existing customers for jobs that call for finishing on those substrates and until now, Lincoln Industries had to outsource those services. Understanding that sourcing activity as a top priority, we recognized a great opportunity in acquiring a business that is vertically integrated in casting operations and is a highly regarded plater of those substrates. Overall, it’s a great opportunity for us.”

Boothe is also pleased the acquisition will strengthen Lincoln Industries polishing capabilities.

“Identifying polishing sources that can meet our demand has been a challenge,” he said. “To be successful, we must be competitive in polishing, both nationally and globally. Polishing is demanding work and most sources have a difficult time finding enough people to meet our demand. This acquisition has allowed us to bring on a world-class polishing operation that addresses current needs and positions us well for the future.”

The acquired companies also have strong process synergies with Lincoln Industries.

“There are no redundancies between the capabilities of Lincoln Industries and the companies we acquired,” said Boothe. “We have never had the capability to plate on aluminum and zinc die cast in Lincoln. Our acquired facilities are vertically integrated to cast, polish, and plate aluminum and zinc die cast.”

“Given these additional capabilities, there are not many markets we can’t address,” he said. “There are new opportunities for us in both over-the-road truck and motorsports industries where we already have strong positions. There are certainly other markets we want to explore in the future. The use of either substrates is so wide-spread, there are few customers that wouldn’t have some need.”

“This is going to be a tremendous success, said Boothe. “We are driven to serve our customers and it’s a great feeling knowing that you can meet a whole new set of a customer’s needs.”

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Lincoln Industries’ commitment to successfully bring together complementary cultures, is grounded in the objectives of the integration of its new companies.

Lincoln Industries Vice President of Operations Tim Carpenter is working to make it happen.

“Developing leadership will provide us the most value during the first weeks of the integration of our companies,” said Carpenter. “It’s the opportunity to have a positive impact on a large group of people that gets me energized. I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with the team in Mexico, and with Clint and Louis spending time with the team in Wisconsin, it’s a great way to work on building trusting relationships throughout the new teams while setting expectations.”

“When you think about what’s important in our business, it comes down to performance and customer satisfaction. Our approach is using our Beliefs and Drivers to have a positive impact on our people. Our leadership model begins with building trust, sharing information, helping and guiding people to do the right things to effectively serve customers. Transparency in

BRINGING TOGETHER COMPANY CULTURESThe acquisition of Southwest Metal Finishing and Inventix Mfg.

our communication and metrics has been positively received. Through our values we provide our people with a guide, a purpose for their work. Over the years, we have established a very strong culture at Lincoln Industries. We believe that by sharing the importance that culture plays in success, our performance will improve at our acquired companies,” said Carpenter.

Carpenter believes the people at Lincoln Industries’ new facilities are eager to succeed.

“From a business standpoint, we can learn about, and utilize their expertise in die casting and share this expertise with our customer base in Lincoln,” he said. “The cooperation between the people from Lincoln, Wisconsin, and Mexico has been energizing. I’ve witnessed a ‘want to’ attitude with this group of people like I’ve never seen before. It’s incredible how excited these people are about getting down to the business of serving customers. They have been starving for the resources they need in order to do the right thing, are hungry for leadership, and have a passion to serve our customers.”

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Within a day after closing on May 2nd, Lincoln Industries people were already onsite, working together to share information. Today, two months later, best practices continue to be shared both ways.

“We are using our expertise to solve the issues they are having with quality, delivery, and turn times,” said LeBaron. “At the same time there is a lot we are learning from them. Their expertise in die casting and plating on aluminum and zinc is well known. We are also sharing the systems that have been put into place to ensure quality and on time delivery. Over time we will be implementing the IT systems we use at Lincoln. Our IT people help us manage specific business activities we use to serve customers.”

Lincoln Industries IT Manager Slavic Stepanyuk, says his plan is to roll out the company’s ERP system in the future, but in the meantime his team has been providing other IT support at the facilities.

“Our ERP of choice is Dynamics NAV,” he said, “and it provides us with control over our business practices. It makes information flow, reduces many manual processes, provides information that allows people to perform their jobs, and allows us to effectively communicate with customers. It takes information, plans our operations, and from the time a forecast is given to

TRANSITION BENEFITING FROM BEST PRACTICE SHARINGThe acquisition of Southwest Metal Finishing and Inventix Mfg.

We are using our expertise to solve the issues they are having with quality, delivery,

and turn times.

“

Marc LeBaron / Chairman and CEO

when the parts are delivered.”

“By strengthening their IT systems, we will improve their ability to support the organization,” he said.

“There will also be networking upgrades and implementation of a business continuity plan, a system of necessary redundancies to their system,” he said. “We have also made our Help Desk available to the people at the new facilities. This has improved responsiveness to their immediate IT needs. Our goal is to help and assist in any way we can to enhance their IT support.”

IT support is not the only best practice being shared. Quality, operations and environmental people have also been onsite providing support.

“We’ve seen a very positive response to our work,” said Stepanyuk. “They’re excited about the additional support. We have already accomplished a lot by building relationships and becoming a part of one team. They know we will work together to make things better.”

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BLACK BELT CERTIFICATION

CARL WITTE Belt certifications were initiated with the first Six Sigma quality improvement programs at Motorola in the late 1980’s. Since then, this structure has spread throughout manufacturing, finance, health care, and countless other service industries. At its core, Six Sigma is focused on reducing variation in processes to ensure consistent output to customer needs. Over the years, Belt certifications were coupled with Lean methodology which is about engaging all people in reducing waste. The levels of training include White or Yellow Belts, Green Belts, Black Belts and the highest level of certification, Master Black Belt.

Carl Witte, Manager, Process Control Engineering, completed this certification earning his Master Black Belt in May.

Witte’s final project for certification was focused on improving our process for utilizing Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA’s). These tools are used to proactively identify and minimize risk that are core to the automotive industry. All projects that go through Integration are linked to an FMEA in our plant. Our customers are increasingly requiring us to have product-specific FMEA’s instead of the process based tools we have developed through the years. By making this change we would substantially burden our document control system as the current FMEA’s are all Excel-based files. Additionally, we need to be more risk-based in our

improvement activities and incorporate best practices across similar processes.

Witte led a cross-functional team on this problem by focusing on our end goal. He coordinated trials from multiple off-the-shelf software suppliers as well as evaluated internal development options. Through this project we selected a software solution and have begun the process of uploading our FMEA’s into this shared database. The new tool will allow us to link similar processes across lines, create product-specific FMEA’s to meet customer needs, and simplify the document control functions. Through these efforts Witte exceeded all the required expectations for Master Black Belt certification. He is now able to certify others as Green Belts and Black Belts which increases our bandwidth to solve customers’ problems.

Manager, Process and Operations Systems

LINCOLN SETS NEW ENVIRONMENTAL RECORDFifteen years of environmental regulation perfect compliance makes us unmatched in the industry.

It was 25 years ago when the president of a Fortune 500 company visited Lincoln Industries. Half way through the tour of the facility, he turned to Lincoln Industries Chairman Marc LeBaron, and said, “You’re not in the plating business, you’re in the environmental business.”

He was right. An uncompromising commitment to the environment is core to the values that have guided Lincoln Industries. As a result, Lincoln Industries’ environmental performance is unmatched in the industry.

This month, the company achieved another milestone in its environmental record – 15 years of perfect compliance to the environmental regulations that every finishing company must meet. Director of Environmental Services Rick Dickey believes this success is the result of dedication and cooperation between the people of Environmental Services and Operations.

“The city samples us 16 weeks throughout the year,” said Dickey. “There are seven metals we must be within compliance. The water we discharge must be clean to national standards. With no violations in 15 years, we have passed 1,200 analyses of our water.”

“Fifteen years ago, our area was called the Pollution Room,” he said. “Knowing we don’t have pollution, we

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changed the name to Waste Water Treatment and then later to Environmental Services. More than the name changes, new processes and new attitudes have made the biggest difference in our success. And neither a fire nor a flood were able to derail our perfect record.”

Lincoln Industries President Bill Ellerbee says the company’s environmental performance is the gold standard by which the company measures all other performance.

“People say that perfection isn’t possible, but our ES team has shown us that doesn’t mean you don’t strive for perfection,” said Ellerbee. “While it’s become expected, at the end of the day, they never stop reaching for the next rung on the ladder. They are always working to get better.”

“We have a strong team of nine people with a total of 161 years of experience,” said Dickey. “We also have outstanding teamwork and communication between shifts. This is a group with a huge amount of pride in their work, and who come to work every day with a perfect compliance mentality. They know every detail is important and know they can’t lose their focus.”

“Operations has also played a role in this success,” he said. “They have done a great job following procedures and schedules. They are a true partner.”

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NEW CERTIFICATION OPENS DOORS FOR OPPORTUNITIESObtaining IATF 16949 allows us to work closely with premium brands.

On February 23rd, 2018, our transition to the IATF 16949 Quality Management System Certification succeeded. Our lead auditor, Bob Wallace, from our external certification body, commended Lincoln Industries for our culture of people helping people.

This certification is a brand-new revision with an automotive focus that is required by several customers. There were various risks based assessments required through the auditing process, including engineering specification and documentation of processes and how to report them.

Obtaining IATF 16949 certification allows us to work closely with premium brands as they require this certification to bid on jobs. Lincoln Industries was allotted two years to become compliant with the IATF 16949 requirements and have made immense improvements throughout the company since.

“Of the companies who applied for the new standards of IATF 16949, only 30 percent were granted certification. We are proud that we had such a successful conversion to the IATF requirements,” says Audit Coordinator Josh Hinman. “The requirements focus on continual improvement and in doing so, protecting our customers.”

Lincoln Industries has made a successful transition, furthering our commitment to quality in everything we do.

NEW PEOPLE & TRANSITIONS

COLBY KRUSE Business Development Manager

Colby Kruse joined Lincoln Industries in May 2018 and will serve as Business Development Manager. He joins LI after 11 years at Health Alliance Medical Plans, where he served as Senior Product Manager and Senior Market Intelligence Analyst. Kruse previously worked in a consulting role for Lincoln Industries, researching and creating detailed profiles on potential expansion markets for the business. He earned both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

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Lincoln, NE

JOSHUA BLAZEY Operations Manager

Joshua Blazey has joined the Minnesota team as Operations Manager. Blazey has a background in production and operations management in technical products including positions at First Solar, Bose Corporation, and CHEP Recycling. He has utilized his training in Six Sigma and Lean methodologies to lead cost savings and productivity improvements that have significantly improved the financial performance of these organizations.

Pine Island, MN

JON MALECHA Operations ManagerLincoln, NEJon Malecha joined Lincoln Industries as Operations Manager in April. Malecha previously worked for Cummins Inc. where he served as a Six Sigma Black Belt managing business improvement projects. Malecha earned a BSME from Valparaiso University in Indiana and an MBA from University of Colorado-Denver. Malecha is happy to be back in the Midwest working for a company with a great culture.

600 West E Street Lincoln, NE 68522

A spirit of innovation is rooted deep within the his-

tory of Lincoln Industries. Now, as we develop new

solutions we draw inspiration from our

customers’ visions, our innovative legacy and

the hard working mentality of our people.

That inspiration allows us to continue to excel at

moving our world-class customers forward.

I N N O V A T I O N I N S P I R E D . ®